Faces of Science: Karissa Sanbonmatsu

For Karissa Sanbonmatsu, there is nothing more exciting than the moment of discovery, when only the discoverer has the answer to a special secret. One such secret Karissa is unraveling today is how DNA is reprogrammed during life.

March 4, 2015

Karissa Sanbonmatsu, Bioscience and Health

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BIOSCIENCE HEALTH

Discovery of gigantic molecules makes huge impact on gene research

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Faces of Science: Karissa Sanbonmatsu

Karissa Sanbonmatsu says that research is like solving a complex puzzle. Karissa cannot stop “digging” at a problem until she knows the answer. For her, there is nothing more incredible than the feeling of moving into uncharted territory.

Karissa’s research right now involves researching how DNA is reprogrammed during life. The missing link on how genes are switched on and off could be gigantic RNA molecules. In 2012, Karissa and her team published the first structure of such a molecule.

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